1. Field
The following description relates to a technology of combining images, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for combining color images with black-and-white images including infrared components.
2. Description of the Related Art
With popularization of digital cameras, interests in digital imaging devices have been growing. A digital imaging device may edit or store captured images as it digitalizes and processes various image information.
In general, a digital imaging device includes a lens, an image sensor, and an image processor. The lens adjusts a focus of light reflected from an object and transmits the light to the image sensor so that the light forms a proper image on the image sensor. The image sensor senses the light incident thereon and generates image signals, that is, electrical signals. The generated image signals are subjected to processing and may be displayed or stored.
Types of image sensors include image pickup tubes and solid image sensors. The solid image sensors include charge coupled devices (CCDs), complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors (CMOSs), and the like.
A CCD sensor includes a circuit in which a plurality of capacitors are connected in pairs. Also, a CCD chip including a plurality of photo diodes generates electrons according to an amount of light incident on each photodiode. Then, by reconfiguring information generated by the photodiodes, image information may be created.
CMOS image sensors may be manufactured at lower costs than CCD image sensors as the CMOS image sensors may be manufactured using a general-purpose semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Therefore, CMOS image sensors have been typically utilized in low-priced digital cameras or slow-frame television cameras. However, CMOS image sensors may be unstable or have poor performance in a low illumination environment, and images captured by a CMOS image sensor may have noises.
While a CMOS image sensor can convert infrared light as well as visible light into image signals, such infrared components are generally removed by an infrared blocking filter in order to easily restore color signals. However, in order to acquire images over wider bands, it is desirable to use the infrared components.